Nearly 100 professionals from across Idaho’s public and private sectors gathered last month for the state’s first Water and Wastewater Security Summit on June 17. The full-day event focused on one clear goal: protecting the systems our communities rely on every day.

Hosted by the Idaho Office of Emergency Management (IOEM), the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and the Idaho Rural Water Association, the summit opened with a focused look at today’s threat landscape. Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation kicked things off with an in-person briefing on current risks. From there, speakers covered a range of topics including cyber disruptions, physical security threats, and the role drone technology plays in both.

Sessions throughout the day featured state, federal, academic, and industry leaders sharing practical tools and strategies for resilience planning. Experts from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, and Water Information Sharing & Analysis Center (WaterISAC) discussed everything from risk assessments to emergency response planning. Attendees also heard real-world lessons from incident response leaders at Veolia North America.

Later in the day, participants split into breakout sessions to dive deeper into cyber incident response and risk and resiliency assessments. These workshops gave teams a chance to talk through challenges and identify steps they can take now to strengthen local systems.

What stood out was the level of engagement. The agenda was built to encourage conversation, and participants took full advantage. People asked questions, shared experiences, and made connections they can expand on and take back to their communities.

With planning already underway for future events, Idaho continues to lead in building resilient systems that protect essential services and support public safety statewide.